As a family-owned-and-operated company, families are often at the heart of what Woody’s Bar-B-Q is all about. From an intimate family dinner around your own dining room table (or ours) to large family gatherings showcasing catering from Woody’s Bar-B-Q, we’ve been honored to be there for families since 1980. With the official first day of Summer 2022 on June 21, so begins one of the most popular seasons to host a family reunion. To help you plan a family reunion to remember, Woody’s Bar-B-Q has done our homework and we’ve got a few helpful tips to share…
- Designate Dates and a Destination: The destination of your family reunion can help shape your event. You might elect to host it close to where the majority of the family lives or choose a fun locale that everyone will enjoy. Take a poll of family members to get feedback on potential dates and destinations. Once you land on the city, begin contacting hotels and venues to set aside rooms at a special group rate, set the dates and begin building the framework for your event.
- Build Excitement: Set the tone for your event early on by sending regular communications with countdowns, details about available hotels and fun things to do during downtimes, designate roles for key family members – like official photographer and activity coordinator and make requests of certain items you plan to include in your event.
- Have Everyone Provide a Favorite Family Recipe: Ask attendees to provide their favorite family recipe in their own handwriting and mail them to you. In the weeks leading up to your event, you can compile the recipes, scan them into a computer file, and create a PDF that you can have printed and bound as a parting gift for family members at the end of the event.
- Have T-Shirts Made: In your communications with family members, be sure to ask everyone for their t-shirt sizes then have t-shirts made to commemorate the occasion and create a fun and colorful sense of unity.
- Take LOTS of Pictures: You might want to designate several photographers of all ages to capture your event from their own perspective. Grandparents and kids can offer an incredibly special take on the occasion that you may cherish even more than those grown-up shots that are perfectly posed and framed. You can also set up a red carpet-themed backdrop, phone booth with props or selfie station, and there’s always the option to hire a professional photographer to capture a huge group shot and individual family shoots.
- Stage a Family Talent Show: As one of your activities, you may want to plan a family talent show where family members can show off their hidden talents or pull together a funny skit. Have an idea of what everyone plans to do so you can have any necessary AV equipment on hand.
- Schedule Family Story Time: A terrific nighttime event – particularly around a campfire – family story time can involve funny stories featuring present family members, historic accounts that date back to the start of the family, love stories and more. This will be a terrific time to pull out a video camera and make a video account of stories that attendees will treasure for years to come.
- Place Zoom Calls to Those Who Couldn’t Make It: It can be difficult to land on a date and destination that works for everyone. If possible, schedule a portion of the event to place a zoom call to those who cannot be in attendance. It’s a simple thing to do that will mean the world to them. If it isn’t feasible to stage a call, have Thinking of You cards on hand and have family members autograph them to mail as a keepsake.
- Plan Games: Because you are likely to have family members of all ages at the reunion, you’ll want to have a lot of games on hand to keep everyone entertained. Cornhole, sack races, egg races, limbo, tug of war and all the classics are always crowd pleasers – even for those who may be limited physically because they’re as fun to watch as they are to play.
- Make Mealtime Easy and Memorable with Woody’s Bar-B-Q: A major component to any successful family reunion is the provision of great food. It means the world to Woody’s Bar-B-Q to be included in such special events. Our locations offer full-service catering that includes everything from the slow-smoked BBQ that put us on the map to classic picnic fare like grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Visit Woodys.com to find the Woody’s Bar-B-Q location nearest your family reunion venue and peruse our Catering Menu.
From all of us here at Woody’s Bar-B-Q, we wish you the best of luck for a fun and unforgettable family reunion!
KB 5/27/22
